Aaron Ray, left, and Dr. Erin Ray kiss their newborn daughter, Natalie Marie Ray. Born at 10:01 a.m. New Year’s Day, Natalie was the first baby born to Johnson County residents in 2023.
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The first Johnson County baby of 2023 was born in the hospital where her mother works.
Natalie Marie Ray was born to Greenwood couple Erin and Aaron Ray at 10:01 a.m. New Year’s Day at Community Hospital South just north of County Line Road. Natalie, their second child, weighed eight pounds, one ounce and was more than 20 inches long at the time of delivery, Community Health Network spokesperson Bobbie Brooks said in an email.
Erin Ray didn’t have to travel far to give birth to her daughter, who came into this world 3 ½ years after her brother, Caleb. Ray is a doctor who spends most of her days working at Community Hospital South in gerontology, helping medically-complex older adults improve their health since Aug. 2020, she said.
Now, she will be looking after someone on the other end of life’s timeline.
After she clocked out of work Friday, she entered the hospital again Saturday for her scheduled labor induction, which finished Sunday when Natalie was born.
There isn’t a familial significance to her daughter’s first name, Natalie’s middle name, Marie, is shared by Natalie’s aunt and grandaunt, Erin Ray said.
Ray was not aware her child was this year’s first baby born to Johnson County residents.
“For both our kids, to have them here and healthy is the main goal and we’re so happy,” she said. “We have never had such a great start to a new year, I can say that for sure.”
The year’s first Johnson County baby was born about 10 hours later on New Year’s Day than the first baby of 2022. Last year, Atticus Charles Eggers was born to Trafalgar couple Alisha and Drew Eggers at the stroke of midnight.
Greenwood couple Gurjit Singh Nijjar and Navjeet Kaur welcomed not only their first child, but the first child born in a Johnson County hospital this year. Abijot Singh Nijjar was born at Johnson Memorial Hospital at 2:25 p.m. New Year’s Day. Abijot weighed seven pounds, one ounce and was 19 ½ inches long at the time of delivery, hospital spokesperson Jeff Dutton said in an email.
Abijot, a boy, was a name picked by Gurjit Singh Nijjar’s parents, he said.
“I feel so good,” Nijjar said. “It’s also a New Year’s baby, which I think is special.”
